I'd ask people to keep in mind the idea that if you really understand something, it's even more important for you to consider the possibility of your wrongness. Even if it takes someone dumber than you to point that out. Chuck Klosterman More Quotes by Chuck Klosterman More Quotes From Chuck Klosterman I honestly believe that people of my generation despise authenticity, mostly because they're all so envious of it. Chuck Klosterman generations believe people My mind and gut are never simpatico: Every time I think somebody likes me, she doesn't; every time I think somebody doesn't like me, she does. This has never changed and I'm certain it never will. Chuck Klosterman mind doe thinking The Sims is an escapist vehicle for people who want to escape to where they already are, which is why I thought this game was made precisely for me. Chuck Klosterman games want people I think anyone who's not as good a writer as me is absolutely a hack, and I think anybody who's a slightly better writer than me is brilliant. So of course that makes me a horrible critic when it comes to books, because I can't distance my own experience from what I'm doing. Chuck Klosterman distance book thinking Sometimes I think children are the worst people alive. And even if they're not- even if some smiling toddler is as pure as Evian- it's only a matter of time. Chuck Klosterman children people thinking The problem a lot of writers have is that they really enjoy people saying, "You're brilliant." They let their self-perception be dictated by reader response. But if you're going to let other people make you feel good, you're going to end up feeling bad when they say the opposite. You've got to be a cultural stoic. Then you won't be devastated by people who respond negatively. Of course, the downside is that it sort of stops you from being able to enjoy people liking your work. Chuck Klosterman feel-good feelings people When I think about the future, I'm not necessarily arguing it's going to be better or worse. I'm just saying it's going to be different. Chuck Klosterman different arguing thinking If I knew I was going to die at a specific moment in the future, it would be nice to be able to control what song I was listening to; this is why I always bring my iPod on airplanes. Chuck Klosterman music nice song I hate the point where you have to get off the ladder, or get back on. I don't know if that's a fear of heights, or literally a fear of falling. I want to be afraid to fall. That seems like a good fear. Chuck Klosterman ladders hate fall Somewhere, at some point, somehow, somebody decided that death equals credibility. Chuck Klosterman decided credibility And it's kind of my own fault too, in the sense that I've used my own life as a literary device so much. I think people feel very comfortable reviewing the idea of me, as opposed to what I've actually written. I find that most of the time, when people write about one of my books, they're really just writing about what they think I may or may not represent, as sort of this abstract entity. Is that unfair? Not really. If I put myself in this position where I'm going to kind of weave elements of memoir into almost everything, well, I suppose that's going to happen. Chuck Klosterman writing book thinking I look at camping the same way I look at horror movies. All the years that humans fought to get into caves and into shelters - it almost seems sacrilegious to go outside and sleep without a roof. We work so hard to have these things! Chuck Klosterman camping sleep years Everyone knows history is written by the winners, but that cliche misses a crucial detail: Over time, the winners are always the progressives. Conservatism can only win in the short term, because society cannot stop evolving (and social evolution inevitably dovetails with the agenda of those who see change as an abstract positive). It might take seventy years, but it always happens eventually. Serious historians are, almost without exception, self-styled progressives. Radical views--even the awful ones--improve with age. Chuck Klosterman self views winning If you don't have a job, you don't have a fear of losing it. You fear having to get one. Chuck Klosterman losing ifs jobs I love sports, but I don't like live sporting events, because I don't like sitting in the crowd. I like listening to records, but I don't like going to concerts, because I don't like standing in the crowd. I guess I just don't like being in the crowd itself. Chuck Klosterman events listening sports We are always dying, all the time. That's what living is; living is dying, little by little. It is a sequenced collection of individualized deaths. Chuck Klosterman collections dying littles Styx and The Stones may break my bones but 'More than Words' will never hurt me Chuck Klosterman hurt stones may Punk was perfect for lazy people, because anyone could do it--you didn't even need to know how to play your instrument, assuming you knew how to plug it in. There was really no difference between Sid Vicious and anyone in London who owned a bass. Chuck Klosterman lazy-people differences play That's like comparing apples with hermaphroditic ground sloths. Chuck Klosterman fruit apples sloth And I spilled gravy on my Carolina sweater, because I am alive. Chuck Klosterman carolina sweaters alive
